17 million have received minimum wage increases since 2012, report claims

Efforts to raise the minimum wage have put more money in the pockets of roughly 17 million low income workers since 2012, a new report claims.

The report released Wednesday by the National Employment Law Project claims the "Fight for $15" -- a movementto raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour -- has played a crucial role in these increases.

Paul Sonn, the report's co-author, said that causation between the Fight for $15 and the minimum wage increases can't directly be proven. But he said there's a big argument for its impact in raising public awareness and changing the national conversation.

"Lawmakers were stuck at increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from $7.25," said Yannet Lathrop, co-author of the report. "Now people are talking about $15 an hour."